Kenning is a specialized metaphor. It is a stylistic device in the form of a two-word phrase that describes an object. It replaces a name or a noun. The words are hyphenated.
Ex.
Whale-road means sea
Light-of-battle means sword
Battle-sweat means blood
Ring-giver means king
Sky candle means sun
Raven-harvest means corpse
Synecdoche is a literary device that uses a part for the whole or uses a part to represent the whole. It can also use a whole to represent a part. It is type of trope that is considered as a sub-class of metonymy.
Ex.
Heorot - the mead-hall, it represents the warrior culture of the Scandinavians.
Keel - it is part of a ship but is used to represent the whole ship.
Alliteration is a pattern of sound that uses the repetition of consonant sounds. It can be found at the beginning of words, or within a phrase, a sentence or a paragraph.
Ex.
"So Hrothgar's men lived happy in his hall"
"He found them sprawled in sleep, suspecting nothing,"
"Up from his swampland, sliding silently,"
Hubris is a characteristic of someone who is prideful or overconfident. It is considered as a flaw in personality to the extent that the character loses contact with reality, which ultimately leads to the character's downfall.
Ex.
Beowulf is a prideful character. During the battle with the dragon he died because he was overconfident or full of pride, despite his age. His pride led to his death in the end.
Epithet can be an adjective or a descriptive phrase that expresses a quality or attribute of a character. It is regarded as a characteristic of a character or thing mentioned. In other words, it is a nickname.
Ex.
Beowulf:
Prince of Weders
the Greatish Hero
Lord of the Seamen
Unferth:
Murderer of brothers
Brother-killer
Son of Ecglaf
Grendel:
Sin-stained demon
The Almighty's enemy
Warrior's code is a code of conduct that defines what a warrior can do and cannot if one wants to be regarded as or considered as a warrior. In Beowulf, the warrior's code is known to be the heroic code.
Ex.
Warrior's code of honor - Beowulf to King Hrothgar
"It is always better/ to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning... When a warrior is gone, glory will be his best and only bulwark,"
Beowulf emphasizes revenge as a means to fame and glory, which will in turn immortalize reputation.
